January - February Update
Our first meeting of 2023 happened to be on the first day of the year. It was a great way to start the new year, as it reminded us of God’s guidance in our lives. It started with planning a simple drop in, but ended with presenting our ministry in Branson, Missouri, leading us to meet some really sweet people. I can count three miracles that came out of that meeting, one being that God connected us with another great missionary. This connection led us to helping our friends in Florida find a church home.
Our next step in our journey got a lot warmer, as we started our two-week tour through the south in Mobile, Alabama. This series of meetings began with a fairly new church plant. We have loved all the churches God has led us to, but one thing that we have learned on our trips is that young, growing churches have a vibrant energy that I hope our churches in Portugal never lose.
Of the five churches that we visited on that trip, four of them are partnering with us! As we expected, a few churches that we visited through 2022—some as far back as six months ago—are now reaching out to partner with us. Please pray that God will continue to lead us to the churches He knows will be the best partners for our ministry. Our schedule has been filling up nicely for 2023. We still have a few openings, but overall, it looks promising. As of right now, we will be close to home for much of the summer. This will be nice as we will have about a six week stretch away from home this fall!
From the beginning of our travels, we have said that our favorite part has been meeting new friends all over the country. That continues to be true as we visit more and more churches. Another joy has been reconnecting with old friends. Through happenstance, we were able to spend a decent amount of time with my old college roommate (who was also in our wedding) that I have not seen in over 20 years! Spending time with his family was so refreshing, and we were reminded of the blessing of life-long friendships.
Another blessing was qualifying for a promotion that Southwest Airlines was running. The promotion allowed Mary Ann to fly for free during January and February. This enabled us to be home more, as well as travel to meetings further away from home—like Florida and North Carolina.
A one-page letter is not near enough space to tell you all the blessings and things that God is doing in our lives and Ministry. We have met some amazing people, and our hearts are full from all of their love. It is humbling to think of all the people that are reading this letter and praying for us.
Thank You!
Billy and Mary Ann